How to respond to ...

[hashoresh]

... this comment from my B&M jeweler:

"Diamonds are traded between wholesalers without ASET images. The laboratory reports are what is relied upon to make general
assum

tions about the diamond. ASET images and other optical images are used by some retailers to wow their customer with a dramatic display of the diamond[']s cut."

Based on what I have observed here, wholesalers can "shop" certs to provide the best "looking" cert for stones they want to sell, and as such seems to be the case, anything short of AGS 000 CAN be suspect until an both an ASET image AND visual inspection confirm that the stone is what the purchaser wants to see with his eyes, his head and his heart.

Obviously, it is possible to love a stone that is not in the top miniscule bracket for cut and performance, but how can a buyer really know specifically what he is getting without this information? And why do some very reputable, high end jewelers make it difficult for consumers to obtain this info? I thought all AGS stones had a DQD, but one I was seriously considering had only a DQR and based on the feedback I got here about it based on the DQD numbers with light performance statistics (untold thanks to the one vendor who trolled the AGS site to find the actual cert for me and commented on it specifically!!!!!!!!!), I decided to pass on this particular stone.

What is a consumer to think about this comment, especially when he is considering dropping ~$30k on a ring?! How does it reflect on the industry?!

Thanks for your input!!!!

 

[Dancing Fire]

i'll take my $30k and spend it somewhere else.

 

[oldminer]

The simple answer is that you need to do your business with those few in the industry that have adopted these new tools and standards. If you want to be a buyer at the very top end of "cut quality" and know that you personally want stones which happen to display what is deemed by users of these tools as "the best", then you have made your choice. Buying such a diamond on-line will be relatively easy, but buying it in most B&M stores would be very difficult. Few B&M retailers and few diamond dealers agree that ASET, I-S, etc mean anything, but many of them are just totally working in the past of decades ago. There are enough sellers now working with these new tools that an individual can make a purchase with little problem other than the finest larger stones cost a lot and are not in great supply. Most people choose to buy diamonds that have never seen an ASET or I-S used on them. Few of these diamonds are truly close to any range of "Ideal", but people like them and that's what counts for them and those who sell to them.

I think, as an industry, the diamond business is advancing slowly, as any traditional business change,s by the progress of generational change. A 20 to 25 year cycle of change is pretty much what can be anticipated in such tradition bound mom and pop businesses.

 

[denverappraiser]

The burden of proof is on the seller to convince you that you should part with your money. That's the beauty of a competitive world. One guy is trying to sell you based on ASETs, Sarins, Lab documents and whatever, and another guy is trying to convince you that you could do just as well by going with his word and saving the time and costs for all those other things. It's true that most transactions between dealers don't use these sorts of tools but I'm not convinced that that has anything to do with it. Most jewelers are, or at least pretend to be, experienced experts while most consumers will buy one or at most a few significant diamonds in their whole lives. That difference is important. The other big difference is what people are looking for. Dealers are looking for things that will sell for them in their particular market, hopefully at a profit. Consumers are looking for a stone that THEY will love and that's within their budget, hopefully at a competitive price.

If it was MY $30k, and I wanted ASET to be part of my shopping procedure, I would vote with my feet and head for a jeweler who did business the way I wanted but hey, that's just me.

 

[Lula]

... this comment from my B&M jeweler:

"Diamonds are traded between wholesalers without ASET images. The laboratory reports are what is relied upon to make general
assum

tions about the diamond. ASET images and other optical images are used by some retailers to wow their customer with a dramatic display of the diamond[']s cut."

Based on what I have observed here, wholesalers can "shop" certs to provide the best "looking" cert for stones they want to sell, and as such seems to be the case, anything short of AGS 000 CAN be suspect until an both an ASET image AND visual inspection confirm that the stone is what the purchaser wants to see with his eyes, his head and his heart.

Obviously, it is possible to love a stone that is not in the top miniscule bracket for cut and performance, but how can a buyer really know specifically what he is getting without this information? And why do some very reputable, high end jewelers make it difficult for consumers to obtain this info? I thought all AGS stones had a DQD, but one I was seriously considering had only a DQR and based on the feedback I got here about it based on the DQD numbers with light performance statistics (untold thanks to the one vendor who trolled the AGS site to find the actual cert for me and commented on it specifically!!!!!!!!!), I decided to pass on this particular stone.

What is a consumer to think about this comment, especially when he is considering dropping ~$30k on a ring?! How does it reflect on the industry?!

Thanks for your input!!!!

To answer your question (in red text), vendors make it hard for consumers because vendors want you to buy from their, often limited, selection using your emotions and (uneducated) eyes -- the "wow, pretty" response. The more you know about how diamonds are cut and graded and sold, the more educated your eyes become, and that makes their job harder (unless they are one of the few B&M who stock well-cut stones). Also, many of them have never taken the time to educate themselves (as seems to be the case with your vendor) about how to use the "new-fangled" tools like ASET and IS.

ETA: A friend of mine works part-time for some friends of hers who own a mom-and-pop jewelry store. I was shocked to learn recently that much of the store's inventory comes from a "traveling wholesale diamond salesman" with whom they have some sort of contract He supplies the store with much of its inventory. My friend told me that it is the salesman who determines what inventory the stores should carry, not the owners, based on his assessment of their previous months' sales. If the store is not doing well, the salesman does not leave his best quality merchandise with the store, and the store gets lesser quality merchandise to sell. I'd never heard of this before (is this called buying on margin???), but if this is how many of the small stores obtain their stock, it is no wonder that so many local jewelers do not want their customers to request, or even know about, tools like ASET and IS.